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2025-03-02
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This Michelin 1-star is one of my favorite restaurants in town, always impressed by their amazing cuisine, quality ingredients, nice ambience, and impeccable service. Even though I have only visited a few times, they remember I like Matsuba crab, and will notify me when the special menu is offered. Today, I come to On Lan Street with high anticipation of the treats Chef Teruhiko Nagamoto has prepared for us for the Special Matsuba Menu ($3,500 each).Stepping out of the elevator we are greeted wa
This Michelin 1-star is one of my favorite restaurants in town, always impressed by their amazing cuisine, quality ingredients, nice ambience, and impeccable service. Even though I have only visited a few times, they remember I like Matsuba crab, and will notify me when the special menu is offered. Today, I come to On Lan Street with high anticipation of the treats Chef Teruhiko Nagamoto has prepared for us for the Special Matsuba Menu ($3,500 each).
Stepping out of the elevator we are greeted warmly by the staff, and after settled down at our seats in the L-shaped counter, I order a bottle of 冩樂 純米大吟醸 しずくどり ($2,480). This sake from Miyaizumi 宮泉銘醸 in Fukushima has a nice acidity, sharper upon opening and gradually mellows out throughout the whole dinner, with a light and harmonious taste. Good for matching with crab and most of the food on the night.
The first course 先付け is 蟹茶碗蒸. The crab meat has been mixed with egg custard before putting to double-boil at 85 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, resulting in a creamy silky soft texture. Delicate but rich in flavours. On top is a homemade dashi to add umami to the chawanmushi, with a small leaf to decorate. Delicious and a good start.
The second course 替え is 蛤塩煮 キャビア. The hamaguri clam has been cooked perfectly, not a tiny bit over, to retain the umami and freshness. On the side are some mizuna, fresh and delicate like water. The two small slices of udo, with a slight bitterness to add flavours, and wolfberries made the dish elevated in medicinal properties. Finishes with a white sauce made from the clam stock and a special sesame seed oil. Wonderfully tasty.
The third course 煮物椀 is 蟹真蒸 栗麩. Upon opening the lid of the bowl, the nice yuzu fragrance comes to the nose, with the delicious dashi drawing our breath away. The crab meat surimi has a delicate and elegant taste while the wheat millet gluten has a good bite. The nabana is the seasonal vegetable which adds to the touch of spring to the dish. Very delicious.
The fourth course 造り is 蟹造り. The reason why the Matsuba crab is called such is how the crab leg flesh, after soaking in cold water, will look like the pine needles. Served with a wari soy sauce, with a bit of grated ginger added, the crab meat has a refined, delicate sweetness. It is good but still I prefer to eat the cooked crab meat more with its sweeter taste.
The fifth course is another 造り featuring 本日のお造り. The selected sashimi comprises of tai, yari-Ika, and maguro. The sea bream has nice sweetness and firm texture. The soft and sweet spear squid is paired with a pinkish sauce, made from the innards of bonito, to provide umami and savoury delicacy. Two cuts of tuna are served, with the lean akami rich in taste while the chu-toro having nice fattiness but not excessive.
The sixth course 八寸 includes 毛蟹 蟹味噌, 蟹湯葉巻揚, 蟹散らし寿司 海胆. Apart from matsuba crab, the menu also serves kegani, and the chef has mixed the crab meat with crab miso, together with some vinegar and shiso flowers, sweet and tasty. An interesting piece with the crab is mizuhiki, made from pickled vegetables, signifying a gift and also to cleanse the palate. The tofu skin roll is wrapped with matsuba crab meat and shungiku, paired with a homemade sauce. And the chirashi sushi has Bafun sea urchin, matsuba crab, komochi kombu on top of the shari, with the pickled turnip to give a bit of acidity. Pleasant in both presentation and taste.
The seventh course 強肴 is 和牛すき焼き. The Miyazuki wagyu sirloin has been sliced thinly, and then we see Chef Nagamoto putting them in sukiyaki one piece at a time, to ensure each piece is cooked perfectly. Adding the soft-boiled egg in, the creamy and smooth texture of the beef, plus the mouth-watering delicious sauce, supplemented with the white leek and baby burdock, prompts me to nearly ask the chef for an encore straight away.
The eighth course 箸休 is 黒鮑軟煮 うるい. Cutting the slow-cooked Shimane black abalone into bite sizes, the chef has prepared a jelly, made from the abalone liver and dashi, to further enhance the flavours of the abalone. The urui is a type of wild vegetables, with the chef using dashi to blanch them, having a crunchy texture and slight sweetness. A premium intermittent dish to transition to the other matsuba crab course.
The ninth course 鉢物 is 蟹しゃぶ 蟹味噌. The crab miso is heated on the carapace over charcoal, to prepare a paste to go with the crab meat. When it is almost done, the chef starts to cook the claw of the crab in shabu shabu, with some radish and spring seasonal vegetables together. Using the crab miso as dipping sauce, it is truly amazing. This is why I like how the Japanese cuisine can highlight the authentic and original flavours to the full extent.
Using the remaining crab miso, the chef prepares some 蟹味噌添えて 甲羅酒. The kora sake is made by pouring sake into the carapace, with the crab miso giving the hot sake a delicious savoury taste, though the alcohol is quite strong because of the heat. Still, I cannot help to finish three cups in a row because of how tasty they are.
The tenth course 食事 is 蟹御飯 いくら, 蟹雑炊, 味噌汁 漬物. The highlight of the whole menu in my opinion, the rice is served in the pot, with the crab meat fully scattered on top with also plenty of scallions. It is simply unstoppable and I quickly finish three servings, with the addition of salmon roes. Apart from the rice, there is also porridges which are equally, if not more, delicious, and despite so full I also finish two servings also. With the homemade pickles and miso soup it is a satisfying completion of the meal.
For 甘味と抹茶, the 季節の果実 includes banpeiyu, unshu mikan, and kinkan, with the fruit cut into small dices, adding some blueberries and apple jelly. Sweet and refreshing. The 和菓子 uses a special type of Okayama red beans, which are white in colour, but having the same taste as the normal red beans, with a black bean, mochi and Kumamoto strawberries. Appropriate in sweetness and very good in taste, we also finish with the traditional matcha tea.
Service is impeccable, with the staff very engaging to explain the ingredients and the speciality of the food, demonstrating good understanding of the food and the culture. The bill on the night is $10,428 and while it is not cheap, it is good value for money in my opinion. If you are a big fan of matsuba crab, this one you should not miss. And we will visit again to see whether we can experience the sweet corn during the summer season.
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